A lot of football people tend to question why play any other system than one which allows the players to operate centrally since the main aim is to score a goal which is located down the center of a field, but it takes quite a lot of technical brilliance (especially in the attacking region) to be able to deal with all of the congestion that usually occurs in the middle region of the pitch, and I don’t know if you’ve been in a crowded room before but it can get quite overwhelming mentally.
So long as you get the right players within your team, they will continuously display the intelligence required to operate in these central regionsand this XI right here (especially that front 4) will be a nightmare for any opposition to come up against.
DEFENCE
Although I wouldn’t want to say that everyone in this squad bar the front 4 doesn’t have that much of an impact to the team’s set up, the reality is that the back 5 and midfield 2 are all there to simply facilitate for the allowance of the front 4 to go and win them their matches. Nevertheless, we start in goal with Arsenal and Spanish Shotstopper David Raya (now rated 91), whom we believe might end up being the GK of the season for the upcoming 24/25 campaign. In this XI, he’ll be tasked with bypassing the backline and the DM(C)’s whenever possible in order to get the ball to the guys who will make more of an impact whilst in possession.
The 2 ‘Wingbacks’ main provocative is to give this team width throughout the entire 90 minutes. The stucture in the middle of the park allows them even more license to get and stay forward for longer periods which both Sergiño Dest and Alex Moreno will be pleased with.
The Back 2 of Spaniard David Garciá and Frenchman Beniot Badiashile will seek to keep things as simple as they possibly can when in possession which also means getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible. This will cause them to become “pressing targets” for clever oppositions, but what they provide during the defensive phase makes it worth the risk as well as allowing the more attack minded players to get into mini games of “cat & mouse” with their direct counterpart.
MIDFIELD
Speaking of what they provide during the defensive phase, we have 2 physical stalwarts in our double pivot in the German Emre Can and the Malian Cheik Doucoure. Both are quite tenacious, hardworking, tough tackling and rowdy which will put opposition midfielders on the alert, but on the ball it will be a similar situation to both D(C)’s when it comes to their participation (or lack of) in possession.
FORWARDS
Normally you’d look at the double pivots and doubt wether there’s enough between them to avoid pressure when on the ball, but when you’ve got a front 4 like this, you take every initiative possible to get the absolute best out of them. Here is where the Through the Middle aspect of this style of play will be on duty for all to see. In Michael Olise (now rated ’90’) and Eberechi Eze, we’ve got two exciting ‘F.A.P’s’ who will be operating as if they’re playing street football. We’re talking one- twos, flicked passes, nutmegs, sole rolls, no look passes and so on (Oh, let’s not forget that Rodrygo is in this squad too. He’ll really show them levels! 🔥). While they are constantly interchanging, we’ve got the best attacking player within the entirety of season 12 who’ll be showcasing his ‘Samba football’ heritage while operating as a ‘Support ‘Striker within this team. The thing is, Rodrygo is more than capable of playing as a ‘F.A.P’ off the left, but with the way in which Eze, Olise, and Scamacca (who we’re coming to shortly) like to operate, Rodrygo’s exceptional off the ball movement will do wonders for every player involved within the attacking phase of this XI. Let’s remember that both ‘Wingbacks’ will be “pinning” their opposition ‘Fullbacks’ outwide which will open up gaps for this front 4 to cause chaos. And with Eze and Olise drawing other defenders, they’ll be sooo much space for Rodrygo to operate in between the goal posts.
This leads us nicely to the main focal point up top in the Italian ‘Technical Target Man’, Gianluca Scamacca. Scamacca is very similar to a Benzema, a Zlatan, or an Arnautovic in that he is very silky on the ball and can also pick out his teammates in and around the 18 yard box. He’ll still aim to lead the line for the most part, but expect him to drop in and join the likes of Eze and Olise every now and then, especially since Rodrygo will be lurking to get unto that final pass.
This brings us perfectly back to why the “back 7” have been formalized since the freedom that they allow the front 4 is too good not to take advantage of!
PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS
Emre Can will be leading this team out with Rodrygo being a V.C who leads by example, Olise will be the main set piece taker of this team, Eze has the most experience operating as a M(C) and will be tasked with dropping the deepest of the front 4 to collect the ball from the back 7 (although he won’t do this for every play), Scamacca will do the job of burying those PK’s as well as displaying the true usage of a ‘Technical Target Man’ throughout his entire time on the pitch
If you were interested in checking out the full overview of the ‘Technical Target Man’ role in Soccermanger then click this link right here:
The Soccermanager Experience 